Walk to School Week

Join the movement to use active transportation to and from school!

Research shows being physically active makes children healthier, happier, improves academics, and attention. It also improves air quality and the environment and encourages a reduction of school traffic congestion, vehicle emissions, and speed near schools and daycares. Start an iWalk initiative!

International Walk to School Week / iWalk is a weeklong event that gives students, parents, teachers and community leaders an opportunity to be part of a global event to promote and celebrate the many benefits of walking to school.

encourages a reduction of school traffic congestion, vehicle emissions, and speed near schools;

creates school connectedness – iWalk celebrations are a fun way to bring a school community together around a positive message; and

raises awareness of how walkable a community is, identifying safe routes to school.

Encourage your principals to support your efforts by putting info into school newsletters, get kids to create posters to put up in school, and banners/signs to carry for the event to encourage a celebratory feeling and generate interest.

Register your school online to receive your free iWalk package, which includes posters, stickers and practical planning resources to help organize an iWalk event in your school or community.

International Walk to School participation can happen on many different levels- it can be one day (Oct. 8th), one week (Oct. 6-10) or for the month of October. Participation could be promoted and led by the PAC and/or other volunteers encouraging individual family participation or can be more formally organized with a ‘Walking School Bus’ route and pick up times that involve more families with volunteers as leaders (perhaps even high school students or members of a local walking club).

Events could be held in individual schools or with a friendly competition between one or more schools.

Many schools create the ‘Golden Shoe Award’ for the class (or the school) with the highest participation rate.

Kids love to be involved in making posters to promote the event as well as banners and signs to carry as part of the celebration.

There is also a way to involve bus students if that is of interest.

check out the online resources in the sidebar to help plan your walk…

Use the online calculator to discover more about the impact of how you travel to school
…This is a great tool to use during computer class or an activity to do together at home.
Students can use this tool to calculate calories burned, gas money saved, and CO2 emissions avoided when they choose more active routes to school.